Former Golden Eagle Buzachero one step from Major Leagues

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- It's a long way from Livingston to where Bubbie Buzachero is right now, playing for the Class AAA Buffalo Bisons. But the road there is something he's prepared for most of his life, and it's led him to the doorstep of the major leagues.

Buzachero, a right-handed pitcher who was a Livingston Academy standout and later played for Tennessee Tech, is just a phone call away from playing for the Cleveland Indians. But for now he's playing in the International League and doing well after a promotion from Double-A Akron. For the year, Buzachero has a 2-3 record with a 3.92 ERA. He has struck out 20 batters in 39 innings of work while allowing 37 hits and giving up 19 runs.

Though he knew he had the skills to make it to this point, Buzachero said it was just a matter of playing against top competition to realize how well he could actually perform.

"It was a little tougher because Livingston's a small town, Cookeville's not a whole lot bigger, so you didn't know how to compare yourself to other guys in the country," he explained. "What it all comes down to is it's a funnel effect. The best players go to college, the better players go to pro ball and it just keeps weeding itself out. To get to this point, you always dream about getting to this point -- one step away -- but you never really realize it until you're here."

Now that he's near the pinnacle of professional baseball, Buzachero has also joined an elite group of former Tennessee Tech players. Just three former Golden Eagles are currently in the minor leagues (joining Jim Ed Warden and Casey Benjamin), and he says he regularly gets questions regarding TTU.

"You get that all the time. Not a lot of people have heard about Tech, and it's not a huge baseball school or anything like that," he said. "We get a lot of, 'Where's that at? Is that a Division I program?' And we're like, 'Yes, yes it is' and try to explain it."

Buzachero actually started his professional career with the Blue Jays organization in 2002 and has made a steady ascent since then. After playing for the Pioneer League's Medicine Hat Blue Jays for the latter half of '02, he spent all of 2003 with the Auburn Doubledays of the short-season New York-Penn League where he put up some eye-popping numbers (1.54 ERA, 47-7 K-BB ratio).

From there, Buzachero skipped a level and spent all of 2004 with the High-A Dunedin Blue Jays where he served as the team's primary closer (2.55 ERA, 25 saves and 59 K in 60 innings). He started 2005 in Dunedin but quickly was promoted to the Class AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Buzachero saved 11 games that year and posted a 3.97 ERA in 46 appearances.

After the season he was traded to the Indians for left-handed reliever Brian Tallet. He spent all of 2006 with the Akron Aeros, putting together more stellar numbers (2.72 ERA in 49 appearances).

That year, he also was reunited with Warden, who is also in the Indians organization with the Aeros. Buzachero said it was great to have someone around who had a similar experience as he did.

"You have a lot of history, a lot of background there. Jim Ed and I, we were roommates in double-A, and obviously we were big buddies when we were up here together," Buzachero said. "So we would talk about it a lot as far as where we came from and where we're at today. It's unbelievable to look back at where we were."

Where he is now is playing with major-league talent, even though it's still a minor league team.

"Being one step away, you have five, six, seven or eight guys on each team that have already been in the big leagues," Buzachero explained. "So you're playing against big-league-caliber players. It's a little different from Livingston Academy high school players to where we're at today."

Buzachero said he tries not to worry about when he'll get the call to the big leagues.

"It's the one thing I can't control, but the biggest thing they tell us is, 'Keep doing what you're doing, don't try to do too much. Stay within yourself,'" he said.

"You know you can pitch in the big leagues because you've played against those guys for however long now. You know you can, it's just a matter of time and waiting your turn and getting that opportunity so when you do go up there, you're ready for it, the mental side of it and knowing you can pitch there."

When he gets that call, Buzachero said it will fulfill his dreams.

"That's every little kid's dream from tee-ball all the way up. It's what everybody wants to do," he said. "But just to get the opportunity to be on the doorstep right now -- I'm not content with where I'm at, but I feel like I've done more than I ever thought I could do as far as baseball-wise.

"It's just going to be that much more rewarding with all the hard work that's been put into it and all the time that's been put into baseball over the years."